Wherefore, Humanity?

What a week.


What happened in Paris was, undoubtedly, a tragedy. A group of evil cowards saw fit to terrorize a city in a brazen display of hatred. Unconscionable.


The greater tragedy, to me, has been the disgusting displays of hatred from my fellow Americans. I have witnessed more sickening, hateful, bile from people that I know personally, as well as from outside my personal circles. The worst by far have been the calls to arms in order to exterminate all Muslims from the face of the earth.


Let's just take a moment to digest that. I mean, honestly. All Muslims? All of them? And this, from God-fearing, red-blooded AMERICANS! The same people who lament the days of yore, when our founding fathers really stood for something! Like religious freedom!


...oh, wait. Surely, the founding fathers only meant Christianity, right? Not so much, no.


And while we're at it, Trigger Finger, because a small subset of the 1.6 BILLION Muslims are crazy terrorists, we should kill them ALL? Let's go ahead and extrapolate, then. After we're done murdering 1.6 billion people, let's go ahead an really make things right:


- By definition, all black-on-black crime is perpetrated by black people. If we kill all of them, that'll stop.


- Most serial killers are white men. We can really make everyone safe if we kill all of them, too.


- School shootings are mostly perpetrated by high school students. Let's just do them in, as well.


Heck, with just a bit more effort, I bet we could find enough justification to rid the world of humanity entirely. We'd all be safe as houses, then!


Here's the thing. Muslims aren't the enemy. Terrorists are. The average Muslim isn't any more of a danger to Joe Murican than your average Protestant. I've known several. They are just as appalled with their so-called bretheren as I am with so-called Christians who would like to see a significant percentage of the world's population murdered.


Another important point is that creating an environment in which Muslims are held apart from the rest of the world is exactly what the cowards in ISIS wants. When the West scorns Muslims at large, recruiting becomes so much easier. If we show them that we hate them, their rhetoric becomes true. The sad truth about Mr. Trump's knee-jerk vow to "bomb the shit out of ISIS" is that ISIS would love for that to happen. Their ranks would swell overnight, especially if we accidentally killed some women and kids in there, too.


And yet, angry, scared Americans are calling for blood. They are closing their borders to refugees fleeing the hell that ISIS is creating in Syria, because there might be some embedded terrorists in those groups. They are refusing the tired, poor, huddled masses because they have, in their fear, forgetting that we are a nation of immigrants. We are a nation of refugees. When did we forget this? When did we forget to be human? When did we cease being a melting pot, reveling in the chance to become stronger in our diversity? Have we really lost that courage? Are we so afraid that we can no longer treat other humans as humans? Undoubtedly, there are bad guys out there who wish to do harm. You know what, though? Those people already live here. Every time some coward shoots up a school or a church or a movie theater, we are reminded of that. Those are American citizens doing the shooting.


Fellow Americans, you are breaking my heart. Please be better. The terrorists are ineffective if we don't allow ourselves to be terrorized. Remember what it is to be great, and behave accordingly. More hate is not what this world needs right now.

Symbolism

It’s been a banner week for angering conservatives. The biggest story, of course, is the ruling on marriage equality. I’m not going to talk about that here, as I’ve made my position on that abundantly clear in previous posts (In fact, “patio furniture” is the most frequent phrase I hear when people talk to me about my writing). Instead, I’d like to address the uproar over the removal of the Confederate battle flag from the South Carolina State Capitol, as well as the removal of the Ten Commandments from the Oklahoma State Capitol.

I’m going to come right out and say it: neither the Confederate flag nor the Ten Commandments belong anywhere in, on, or about a government facility. The base reason for both is the same. Government facilities belong to all citizens, and should not be hostile or preferential toward one subset of those citizens.

The Confederate flag is a powerful symbol. However, it is the symbol of a failed ideology. Yes, failed. The South (spoiler alert) lost the Civil War. I can't think of another example of a defeated flag carrying as much weight or being held onto as fiercely as this. That flag still has its place, and that place is a museum. Other than that, it’s just a symbol for slavery and deeply-held racism for most of the rest of the country, - if not the world - despite your “Heritage, not hate” bumper sticker.

If I wore a t-shirt with a giant swastika on the front, I would almost certainly be confronted and called any number of names by passers-by on the street, despite the fact that the swastika predates the Nazi party my many thousand years. Even having the arms of the swastika bent to the left, rather than the right, would most likely not reduce the tongue-lashing I would undoubtedly receive. Why? Because it’s an inflammatory symbol. So is the Confederate flag. It’s time to let it go.

Now. The Ten Commandments. Prominently displayed in, or in front of, a government building, implies that the institution holds to those precepts. But given the fact that the Ten Commandments comes from the books of Exodus and Deuteronomy, only Christians and Jews are represented by the symbolic placement. Every other religion is marginalized by this symbol. When (depending on your preferred numbering scheme) four or five of the Commandments dictate religious concerns, the decision to remove them from a state capitol seems to be a no-brainer. And let’s face it – the religious commandments aren’t even enforced by our legal system. They simply don’t belong.

If you, personally, believe in and abide by the Ten Commandments, great! More power to you. I don’t think you should shake your fists and throw a tantrum because not everyone agrees with you. Your religious freedoms are not being taken away from you. The state just isn’t marginalizing its other citizens to make you feel more in control.

I think it’s high time that we dial down the rhetoric several hundred notches. Just as no one is implying that removing the Confederate flag is a magic bullet to end racism once-and-for-all, no one is saying that you can’t go to church anymore because a statue of the Ten Commandments no longer sits on the steps of the capitol building. It’s time to acknowledge that symbols have power and meaning, and that here in America – a country built on the inclusion of all – we should take care not to allow our symbols to hurt, intimidate, or marginalize our fellow Americans.

No News is Good News

Sorry I’ve haven’t written in so long. I haven’t had a lot to say. Now something’s really bumming me out and I want to talk about it for a bit. 


I’ve noticed a growing trend on my social media feed, and I have some thoughts regarding the inverse relationship between people’s overall apparent happiness and how much they follow the news.


I “follow the news”. That is, I peruse a couple of news sites more-or-less daily, keeping an eye on the state of the world, but not investing a lot of myself into it. You might say that I get my news from the headlines. I don’t watch the news on TV.


I have friends and family who spend a LOT of time watching, reading, and listening to the news. If they are stationary, they are tuned into some news outlet. Their posts online are links to news, political, or religious articles. I’ve noticed that these people seem generally unhappier than other people that I associate with.


Admittedly, this is nowhere near being a scientific study and is purely anecdotal. I am making this connection because I used to be something of a political/news junkie myself. During that time, I was mostly miserable to be around. I spent a lot of time ingesting media that actually made me angry. Then, I’d walk around, grumbling, shaking my tiny fists at the sky, furious about all of these decisions that were being made that I MOST CERTAINLY DID NOT AGREE WITH!!!!!! GRRR!!!!!!!!! (Completely unnecessary exclamation points added for effect).


In some moment of clarity, I realized that 99.9(repeating)% of the things that I was SO angry about, truly had an infinitesimal ACTUAL effect on my life. Policies made by the fat old men in expensive suits didn’t change my home life one bit. The world, as they say, kept turning. I made the conscious decision to stop following politics. Almost overnight, I felt my blood pressure lowering, and my empathy toward my fellow man (even those of a *GASP* different political affiliation) growing. It stands as one of my better lifestyle choices.


Now, I keep seeing people that I really care about – people that I love – who are just really, really angry a lot of the time, and it’s always something from the news that they’re angry about. If you stop to think about it for a second, the “news” isn’t very new at all. It is pretty predictable. I’ve got tomorrow’s headlines all lined up for you:


1. The Middle East is a mess and, for the most part, all of them hate America. I’m trying to think of a time when this wasn’t true, and I’m coming up blank.


2. People from the political party (or parties) that you don’t belong to say things and make choices that you don’t agree with.


3.People from the political party that you align yourself with say things and make choices that you agree with.


In fact, items 2 and 3 make item 1 mostly redundant, but I think that it’s valid enough to leave in there. I contend that, if we can just take these as a given, we really don’t need to follow much of the stuff that’s in the news.


The last couple of times I’ve been somewhere where the news was playing (waiting rooms, etc.), the entire program consisted of talking head after talking head, repeating the same things over and over and over. I don’t understand how anyone can watch broadcast news coverage. It’s painfully obvious that they have nothing to say or to add to the equation, so they just say the same things on repeat, occasionally bringing out a new talking head to say the same thing again. Then, the host repeats everything the talking head just said back to them. Helpfully, there’s also a little scroll underneath to repeat it again, just in case you missed it.


Now, to the news junkie in my life: try to think of a time when ingesting the news has made you happy. Has there been a time when you truly felt better by reading the news? Has there been a time when talk radio made you happier with your life? Do any of these things happen consistently? I suspect not.


My suggestion is to take a step away from the news channels. Watch something else on TV. Read a fiction novel. Go for a walk. Whatever. Think of something that really does make you happy and do that thing instead. Then, when you post online, talk about THAT. Write a post about your passions and how good they make you feel. When you strike up a conversation, talk about what’s going right in your life. In your town. In the world.


Please, just stop adding to the negativity. There’s enough of that already. You know. You’ve seen it on the news.

An End of Excuses

For me, one of the best things about Scripture is how you can have read a passage – even multiple times – and suddenly see something in it that you never really noticed before. Some new truth will be revealed to you. It’s sort of akin to finding $20 in a pair of pants you haven’t worn in years.

This happened to me a couple of weeks ago, and it’s taken me this long to write this post. But I needed to write this, because this truth is very important for my fellow Christians to hear. Or hear again.

Here is the text:

“whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies – in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong the glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.”
1 Peter 4:11

If you attend a church – of any size – you most likely find that said church has difficulty finding enough volunteers for their programs. They’re short on teachers, short on nursery workers, short on people to help clean up, in need of people to do outreach, etc. In every church that I’ve seen, it’s always a small percentage of the congregation that does the lion’s share of the work. The rest of the population just goes to consume. If asked directly, these consumers say something to the effect of, “Well, nursery just isn’t my thing” or “I’m not really a very good teacher”.

Cast your eyes back up to the quoted verse. Pay close attention to the words “the strength that God supplies”. Roll that around in your brain for a second. Those simple words, in the middle of that verse, pretty decisively negate any excuse you could come up with. The truth is, God doesn’t want your strength. He doesn’t need it. He has plenty all by himself. As humans, we tend to take credit for our strengths. God is glorified when we, in our weakness and frailty, use his strength to do his work.

Think about Moses. By his own admission, Moses was a poor speaker. Not only that, but he was an exiled shepherd, just trying to live out a quiet life. Then, God shows up and tells him that he will free the Hebrews from slavery in Egypt. In a great example of our humanity, he argues with God about all of the reasons that he’s not qualified. God, essentially, says, “Yes, I know. You’re going anyway, and it’s going to be awesome”. At the end of the day, the only thing Moses had going for him was obedience. That is what God desires. Just our desire to be obedient and use “the strength that God supplies”.

I’ll admit that this revelation makes me feel pretty silly (and more than a little ashamed) for all of the times that I’ve allowed opportunities pass me by. Specifically, I’ve been exceedingly reluctant to share my faith with others. I have a litany of reasons excuses, too:

“I don’t want to seem pushy”.

“I’m not sure that I could convince them of my point of view”.

“I’m still too young in my own faith to share it with others”.

You see where I’m going with this? The only truth in any of this is that I really don’t want to, and I want to rationalize it away, so I don’t have to do anything outside of my comfort zone.

When I read this passage of Scripture, I wasn’t necessarily looking for anything to really shake me up. However, I was moved almost to tears by the truth and simplicity of it, and at the memories of times when I’ve been disobedient because I didn’t want to make myself uncomfortable. On the heels of this, though, I was also reminded of the times when I’ve been most blessed in my spiritual walk. It was those times when I listened for God to tell me where he needed me, and then did what he asked. I’ll be completely honest here, too – it’s always been service in areas that I would never have volunteered for out of my strengths and abilities.

Fellow Christians – it should be no surprise to you that God seeks to advance his glory and that he desires our help in doing so. If you are not currently serving, please take this as my loving chastisement. Get out there and get your hands dirty. God desires a church in motion. 1 Peter 4:11 removes any excuses we have for idly sitting by and letting others do all of the work, while you sit idly on your derriere. Move.

PS. Yes, I compared the Bible to a pair of pants. I also compared the truth of it to a $20 bill. I’ll tell you what, though. I sure feel like checking through the other pockets now!

Culture of the Lost

I've been thinking about athiests a lot lately. More specifically, I've been thinking about the nature of atheism, and what causes it. I think I've got an idea or two. I'm writing on-the-fly, so we'll see where this goes.

First of all, let's take a look at our culture. I've wondered more than once why missionaries can go to poverty-stricken countries and see tremendous conversions to Christ. How people in countries where Christianity is illegal (and punishable by imprisonment or death) will meet in standing-room-only rooms, under cover of darkness, just for an opportunity to hear the Scripture. It truly boggles the mind when, in the US, church members will stay home from church when it's raining. And raining plain ol' water, not bullets.

Not to go all Tyler Durden here, but I think consumerism may be part of the cause. In Western countries, we're advertised to CONSTANTLY. We're made to think that our lives are lacking if we don't have the latest gadget, the fastest car, the whitest teeth. What this causes is a society of consumers. And what do consumers do but, well, consume? Everything in our lives is focused on drawing in - on pulling things towards ourselves. We become black holes at the center of our own little universes and, when we are at the center of the universe, it becomes difficult to perceive anything else as being more meaningful than our own existences.

I think that this is where atheism springs from. If we are our own gods, what use have we for any others? Indeed, it becomes galling to even consider our focus wavering from ourselves. When our lives are full of our stuff and our own concerns, where is there room for God? So many of the atheists I know have such scorn for Christians. I know that I hated Christians before I became one. I think this contempt is a product of the perceived weakness of a group of people who would willingly submit to another entity, especially one that you can't see.

"We don't need God. You want me to believe in God? I'm going to need you to put him in this box for me. I'm going to need him to show himself to me, personally."

There is no room for faith in this thinking. Instead, it's a demand for a more self-focused approach. More consuming for the consumers. We want God to come to us. We want God to be a product that we can digest. What we don't want is something to be subservient to. We're far too proud and intelligent and self-gratifying for that.

And most of us Western Christians display these characteristics, too. This explains why the flashiest churches have the highest attendance - they have the best, shiniest product. It's also why, in any given Western church, maybe 20% of the population does all of the work. The rest of us don't want to stop focusing on ourselves - to stop consuming - long enough to truly build a relationship, either with God, or with our supposed brothers and sisters in Christ.

I think it's interesting that - as far as I know - every major society in the span of human existence has believed in and worshipped one or more deities. That being the case, is it completely unreasonable that - maybe, just maybe - there's something to that? That maybe you are NOT the center of the universe?

I'm not bringing all of this up to pick a fight. Truly. Atheists, I used to be where you are. I used to be you. Then, I was broken. I reached a point in my life where my own deity (myself) failed me. I turned to God in desperation and, while my life certainly hasn't been all puppy dogs and ice cream since then, I've been more filled up than I ever was as an atheist. My sincere prayer for you is that you are broken to the point where your own deity is insufficient. Not because I want bad things to happen to you, but because I want to share what I now have with you.

Hope to see you on the other side.

Statistical Analysis (or, Who Are You, Lone Visitor?)

And if that title didn't put you straight to sleep, I don't know what will (no offense to people who are into statistical analysis).

One of the great things about keeping this blog is the lovely toolset that Blogger gives me to track things like pageviews, audience, etc.  It doesn't drill down to an individual person or anything like that, but country of origin, linking page, and such are at my fingertips.  Ordinarily, I see a brief spike when I post a new blog and self-promote on Facebook.  People like my parents and a few close friends check in to see what I'm rambling about now and, within a day or so, the pageviews flatline again.  I'm mostly journaling for my own entertainment, so it's not a huge blow to my ego when I don't get pageviews for a while.  I'm not a huge source of news, or a celebrity, or hosting a depository of cute cat photos, so, admittedly, the draw is limited.

What spikes my curiousity is after I haven't posted anything new for a while and then get a single hit.  Especially when it's from a country where I don't know anyone.  Who is this single person, and what brought them to my tiny corner of internetdom?  Did they find what they were looking for?  I'd love to be able to engage this lonely visitor in a dialogue, just to complete that connection.  Was it a random blog link, or did they come, searching for beer, music, zombies, or religion (and what sicko [other than me] would combine those things)? 

People are notoriously loathe to forfeit their anonymity, but I'd really enjoy hearing from you if you find yourself here and don't already know me personally.  If you don't mind, drop me a quick comment, letting me know what brought you here.  I think it'd be a fun experiment.

It's Not (Necessarily) Hate

Amidst a Facebook newsfeed largely comprised of red equal signs, I saw a phrase that I took some exception to: Str8 Against H8 (Straight Against Hate).  On the surface, there's nothing wrong here.  I am also straight and am not particularly pro-hate.  I understand that equal marriage rights are a huge deal right now.  Personally, I don't care if you marry your patio furniture.  It doesn't change my marriage in any way. 

No, the problem I have is this wholesale appropriation of the word "hate" by the LGBT community to label anyone who doesn't agree with them.  It's certainly an effective political tool, and one that I'm certain has rallied more than a few to their cause.  I mean, let's be honest - who wants to be viewed as someone who HATES an entire subsection of our society?  Anyone?  Probably not.  From a purely psychological standpoint, I bet there a good number of people who look at this propaganda-esque usage of the word and jumped on board, just to escape the label.  Very clever, LGBT community.

However, I'm going to go ahead and cry foul here.  I am not a stupid person, and I understand that this "hate" label is largely being leveled at Christians, right-wing-ers, evangelicals, fundamentalists, and whatever other groups are not on board with gay marriage, regardless of reasoning.  This lack of concern for the reason of one's opposition is my problem, and I'm going to say this loud and clear:

Religious conviction is not the same thing as hate.

It just isn't - regardless of willy-nilly application of labels.  As I've already stated, I'm not a stupid person.  I am sadly aware that some (perhaps many) people who oppose gay marriage do hate homosexuals.  It's unfortunate that, if these people who do hate - and do so in the name of God - are ignorant and are also, quite frankly, doing it wrong.  Scripture tells us to love each other many more times than it condemns homosexuality.  Actually, in 1 Corinthians 6:9-10, amongst the people who are listed as not inheriting the kingdom of God are, yes, homosexuals.  Right alongside them are: the sexually immoral (which is a BROAD topic), idolators (anyone who places anything else above God), adulterers, thieves, the greedy, drunkards, revilers, and swindlers.  Certainly, most of us (myself included) fall into one or more of these categories - even the Christians.  The only hope any of us have is the salvation as noted in v. 11 - sanctification in Jesus Christ.

Now, where am I going with this?  Mostly, I just think it's unfair for everyone who disagrees with a particular issue to have this "hate" label applied to them.  For a group (the LGBT community) who is trying so hard to be accepted and normalized in society, this approach seems a bit counter-productive to me.  As I've said in other posts - if you're asking for tolerance and acceptance, try practicing a little.  Casting anyone who doesn't agree with you as an enemy does not foster acceptance.  Instead, it makes people defensive.  If you really want walls to come down in relationships, you have to bring yours down, too.

We'll all be better off when we can learn to disagree on principles without personal attacks on those who may be against us.  We're all human.  We all want to be loved and be free to live our lives in the way that we best see fit.  Let's all try to be a little cooler and not create hate where it doesn't exist.

Monkeys And Clay

I'm sure that most of us have certain things that we don't talk about in certain groups. For me, one of those things has been rearing its ugly head lately, and I've been finding myself biting my tongue an awful lot over the last few days. This is particularly troubling because the groups that I've been in have been groups that I should feel free to speak my mind with.  The major issue is that the topic in question is one of those hot-button topics that can really set individuals off.

In this case, I am speaking of the debate between evolution and creationism.

Let me lay out the scenarios: In the first, a fellow Christian and good friend of mine brought up people who believe in evolution in a tone that I would expect ordinarily reserved for, say, Michael Vick, immediately following that whole dog-fighting fiasco. The implication was that Christians should not believe in evolution.  This was Friday night.

The second happened Sunday morning, during our church service. The pastor was delivering a sermon on hearing the voice of God. Towards the end of the sermon, he made some statements that basically said that, if you believed in evolution, you were essentially unable to hear God, because you were too busy listening to the World (which is a bad thing).

It appears to me that this is one of those things that (like so many things nowadays) has become completely politicized and polarizing. Christians feel that believing in evolution negates God's hand in the creation of, well, everything. Evolutionists feel that believing in God means that you have checked your brain at the door and have become a sheep. Therefore, you must be one or the other, with no room for gray area.

It's not so simple for me. See, I believe both. I have spent many clock cycles puzzling out how these two things can fit together and have reached a point where I feel very confident that God, in creating the Universe, also put everything that falls under the term "Science" into place - including *gasp* evolution. Evolution, physics, chemistry, mathematics, etc. It all works, and I see His glory in all of it.

Sadly, I've been made to feel like a pariah by my "family", because I don't think that Science and Faith have to be mutually exclusive. I love God, but I refuse to be willfully ignorant of the things that I know to be true, just to fit into a mold.

I thought about outlining my personal belief system here, but I'm not sure it would do any good. It might actually do bad, if people are really that vehement about it. Depending on what feedback I get, I may write up another post about it. For now, I just wanted to vent a bit about how I've been feeling.

Update: I was able to talk to one of my other friends today, and he was able to talk me down from the proverbial ledge.  Most helpful: I'm not alone in my beliefs, as well as some wise words about how to proceed from here. I'm extra double grateful to have some really grounded Christians to bounce my ideas off of.

New Old Stuff

I just picked up Adele's debut album, 19.  By now, I'm sure that most of you have heard some/all of her ground-breaking, chart-topping, Grammy-winning album, 21.  You really can't avoid it.  I mean, if you haven't heard "Rolling in the Deep", you may need to pack your volleyball friend onto the raft and think about rejoining society.

Aside: if you haven't heard it, 19 is quite good.  It seems a bit more immature and more of an attempt to mimic the records she heard growing up, rather than developing her own, unique stamp.  There are shades of 21 in there, though.  "Make You Feel My Love" would fit nicely onto 21. 

Listening to her debut album, I'm struck by a few things.  One of them is that this young lady has such command and presence, even at such a young age, that, in my opinion, some of today's "divas" could stand to take some notes.  For one, Adele doesn't over-sing everything.  She crafts interesting vocal lines, sure, but the vocal acrobatics that are so prevalent today, and seem to be the benchmark for what makes a "good" singer, are completely absent.  This is a beautiful, "less is more" approach, and begins to undo some of the damage caused by all of the Whitney Houstons and Mariah Careys of the world.

"But...but..." you stammer. "Whitney could sing!".

You and I will have to disagree there.  Well, maybe not entirely.  She probably could sing.  To me, though, it just seemed like she was yelling on-key most of the time.  Tomatoes, to-mah-toes.  I really didn't come here to bash Whitney.

The second thing that struck me was the phenomenon that I've observed upon discovering a new artist, mid-career, and then delving into their back catalog(ue):

The first album you hear from an artist is, in your mind, their sound, regardless of how it may sound with regard to anything else they've done.

Let me clarify.  In the instance of Adele, 21 is what Adele's baseline sound is.  19 is a change from that.  IN MY HEAD.  For fans who started at the beginning, 21 is the departure.  If the first Pearl Jam album you heard was Vitalogy, Ten is going to sound strange to you.  Have you, readers, noticed this phenomenon as well?

I'd be curious to know what causes this.  Perhaps it's just simple familiarity.  Maybe there's enough nostalgia-weight with your first experience that you'll always hold a special place for that first taste of an artist.

Could you get around this by digesting a band's entire catalog(ue) in one go, thereby imprinting that nostalgia-weight to their entire works?

What artists have you experienced this with?

Oh, no. I don't buy it for a second.

I'm back!  I've had a lot going on, both at work and at home, and just haven't had time (or inspiration) to write anything.  I'll be honest: it's been a pretty stressful time for me, which culminated in something of a nervous breakdown this past weekend.  In fact, I started a post about that while it was still going on, but it read like a suicide note, so I deleted it.  No need to cause anyone any unintentional distress.

Thankfully, I have a wonderful, understanding wife, a fantastic best friend, and a great group of guys at the chapel that I was able to spend some time with, and I got through it.  I'm feeling pretty incredible right now, so that's a definite improvement.

However, that's not why I'm writing today.  As I stated before, I was going to share my new music with you.  I have a couple of new albums to talk about.

Fragrant World

by Yeasayer

Yeasayer are like that band that the cool, art-y kids were listening to in the 80s while you were trying to decide if Boy George would ever top "Karma Chameleon".  Sounding like a cross between Art Of Noise and Gary Numan, Yeasayer brings a deliciously retro sound to a modern audience. 

Their music is predominantly electronic, but the band eschews the trappings of most modern electronic music.  You will not find droning, repetetive beats here.  Instead, this is almost pure pop sensibility, but with so much experimentation and lush density that it feels more like prog than something you'd hear on the Top 40.  The music shifts and swirls, creating a new soundscape every few bars.  By relying on that pop sensibility, though, they keep the music accessible, never making it difficult to listen to.  In fact, the entire album is so utterly listenable that I find myself toe-tapping and head-bobbing right along with it.

Lyrically, the band hits familiar tropes like relationships, etc, but with an artistic flair that makes them more about mood than literal interpretation.  The only exception is the surprisingly mean-spirited "Folk Hero Schtick", which seems to be a diss track, specifically aimed at someone (I don't know who).  It's a step backward and takes away from the positive vibes that you'd expect from a band called Yeasayer (presumably, the opposite of a naysayer).

Overall, Yeasayer have crafted a fine album.  Perhaps it's not quite so memorable as their last effort, Odd Blood, but definitely worth a listen if you enjoy some 80s-sounding synth pop.

Tough Love

A couple of days ago, one of my friends posted a question on Facebook, and I thought it was interesting enough to take some time and give it a proper answer.  It's a big enough question that I thought it might be worth bringing up here:

Does anyone else out there think like me? Does anyone else think that you can be a Christian and a good person, without having to be a church goer that reads and refers to and lives by the Bible? I think I am a Christian as per my testimony at age 14, however, I have also met so many people in this country alone that are incredible people - Muslims, Buddhists, and even Catholic Strippers! Why is it that I can't be open to their ideas and accepting of them and respect their opinions? Does that make me a bad person or a bad Christian? I will not judge others for their choices in life, its just not for me to say, but instead for me to be nice and open and kind to them, right?


OK, since you asked...

There's really no way to address this without bringing up one of the ugly truths about religion.  Almost every religion believes that their way is the right way, and those who are not on board are going to Hell (or some reasonable facsimile).  People don't like this.  It's harsh.  It's black-and-white.  It doesn't leave a lot of room for "Gee, can't we all just get along?".  I know many non-believers who are really offended by this.  It's certainly not something we like to bring up as an icebreaker at parties.
  
However (and I'll speak from a Christian's point of view), this gets unfairly pinned on the believers.  "You're being judgmental!"  Well, no, actually.  I'm not.  I have no authority over where you spend the afterlife.  Now, as far as I know, that's the rules, but they're not my rules.  I didn't make them up.  God did.  It's all His, anyway, so...His rules.  Would I like it if everyone got a Get Out Of Eternity In Fire card, just for smiling at others and not kicking puppies?  Sure.  But that's not how it works.  The thing is, though.  There is a big stack of those cards available.  One for each person.  The trick is that you have to take it.  Faith in Christ is your free pass.  You just have to come that far.  The rest has been laid out for you.

Bit of a digression.  Back to the question.  "Can you be a Christian and a good person, without having to be a church goer that reads and refers to and lives by the Bible?"  A good person?  Sure, no problem.  A Christian?  Not so much.  Without the Bible, what does it even mean to be a Christian?  How do you know what Christianity is, or what it looks like?  I suspect that you like to call yourself a Christian, but don't want to have to deal with any of those difficult parts of it, so you adopt the label and then live your life how you see fit.  That way, when someone asks, you can say, "Yes, I am", but you're really not.  When you create the religion to suit what you think God should be like, you're really worshipping yourself.  If this is the case, and if you're really honest with yourself, you should probably stop calling yourself a Christian (unless your name is Chris or Christie - even then, it's unnecessarily misleading).  

Self-identifying as a Christian because you said you were when you were 14, and then not doing anything since is like me saying, "I'm an airline pilot".

"You're not an airline pilot.", you say, "You've never even studied aviation, much less flown a plane".

"True", I reply, "But, when I was a five years old, I got to go in the cockpit and the pilot gave me pilot's wings.  I'm totally an airline pilot".

Maybe I've got this all wrong.  I just don't understand how you're calling yourself a thing that you are not, just because you were at one time.  You are not an eighth-grader, are you?  Even though you were one when you were 14?  Why?  Because you don't attend classes in a middle school anymore.  Why don't you also call yourself an eighth-grader?  

For the other part - can you be a Christian and not a church goer?  Yes, but you're not going to be as effective and uplifted.  The Bible tells us:

Hebrews 10:25 
Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching. 

1 Corinthians 12:12 
The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ. 

Now, can you be open to others' ideas and accepting of them and respect their opinions without judging them?  Again, yes.  Yes, you can.  There is only one Judge, and you are not Him.  But if you really are a Christian, that is, a follower of Christ, well:

John 14:6 
Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through me". 

Take a moment and let that sink in.  The Muslims and Buddhists and Atheists and Wiccans (etc.) are all going to be apart from God for eternity.  Straight from Christ's mouth.  Uncomfortable?  You bet.  If you care about these people, you should want them to be with you in Heaven.  At the very least, pray for them, fervently, daily.  Pray that they will accept Christ.  Because saying, "Hey, your way is as good as my way", is a death sentence. 

Again, that's only if you believe what you say you believe.  If you don't, and you think everyone's just cool the way they are, you should probably look into Universalism.

To my friend who asked the question: We've been friends for a long time.  You know we're still friends.  I'm just concerned for you and really would like you to think about why you believe what you believe.

Out Come The Knives

I love music.  I also have a huge appetite for new music.  I mean, of course, "new to me", and not, "recently recorded".  Amazon has a delicious mp3 store that frequently has albums on sale for $5 (or less).  This allows me to indulge my large appetite on the cheap, and I thank them for it.

I listen to many genres of music.  Mostly rock-based (of many stripes), but also jazz, folk, rap, swing, pop, avant garde, and whatever else may find its way onto my iPod.

So, I had this crazy idea that, in order to keep myself writing, I'd start doing reviews (for lack of a better word) of the new music I was picking up.  I don't plan on necessarily going into the back catalog, but we'll see what your feedback and my whims lead to.

Luckily, this idea coincided with a purchase from one of my favorite bands - one that I've mentioned on this blog and also on FB several times - The Paper Chase.

 

 

Hide the Kitchen Knives

by The Paper Chase

 

I started listening to The Paper Chase based on a recommendation from a like-minded, music afficionado, friend of mine.  The album that I heard first was their third, God Bless Your Black Heart.  I have since collected all of their albums.  Hide the Kitchen Knives was their second album and the fifth for me.

Musically, HTKK fits right in with the rest of their work, and is a step forward from their debut album, Young Bodies Heal Quickly, You Know.  The production is more refined, and the band is once again led by mastermind/vocalist ("singer" might be a stretch)/guitarist/songwriter/producer, John Congleton. 

Describing The Paper Chase in words is liked trying to describe the feeling of your first kiss or, more accurately, your first fistfight.  The music is an experimental combination of guitar, bass, drums, piano, and samples.  The band is very tight, but never sounds that way, because their music is so discordant.  It sounds as if the musicians might all be playing the same song, but aren't sure what key they're supposed to be playing in.  I can't tell if Congleton's just such a genius that he can bludgeon these disparate sounds into an overall vision, or if each part being wrong ends up sounding all right in the end.

The songs are arranged in such a way that they move from positively bludgeoning, to quiet and almost-beautiful.  The listener is never allowed to rest, though.  Something will keep upsetting any attempt to just float along with the music, whether it's an intentional, "bad" note, or the theme of the lyrics.  The Paper Chase are also not afraid to let various band members rest for a bit.  Instruments drop in and out of the music to suit the arrangements.  Songs blend together, making the work seem like a concept album, even when it isn't.  Samples are not loops of music bits or sound effects, for the most part, but snippets of voice recordings.  Most appear to be recordings of surviving relatives of crime victims.  They add a creepy layer to the proceedings, boosting the unease created by the music.

Lyrically, the Paper Chase craft an ugly world, giving the impression of a run-down Texas trailer park in mid-August, populated entirely by dysfunctional families whose members have nothing but utter contempt for each other.  Surprisingly, though, the lyrics are quite literate and contain some clever wordplay and dark humor.

All of these elements are in play on HTKK.  The Paper Chase defintely have a sound, and they stick with it.  The vocals lean toward the raw delivery that would fade a bit on subsequent albums.  The lyrics continue their penchant for dark wordplay, and are still painting a dirty, sweaty world.  The music is just as experimental and unsettling.  Basically, I got exactly what I wanted/expected from the album.  The band is in fine form, and the production sounds better than that on Young Bodies.

The highest compliment I can pay to The Paper Chase is that they don’t sound like anyone else.  At least, no one that I’ve heard of.  Most of the time, when you listen to a new band, I will compare the band  to another band (or bands).  “They sound like X, but with the vocals of Y”.  I honestly cannot draw any meaningful comparison.  For me, finding a band that has a wholly unique sound is automatically worth a listen.  Hide the Kitchen Knives, while not necessarily my favorite album by TPC, is certainly a great example of their sound for someone who would like to give them a try.

A Dream of the End

I had an incredibly vivid dream this morning.  Ordinarily, I wouldn't share, but this one was very powerful and is really sticking with me.  Please understand, as I describe this, that it was a dream, and didn't necessarily make entire sense with the world as we know it.  I'm just telling it like it happened.

It was The End.  Like, the end of everything.  God was preparing to enact the final reckoning, and all of the believers of the world were gathered together in one place.  It was many different faiths, too.  I don't know exactly which ones were represented, but it wasn't just Baptists, for example.  The place was a very large, very flat place, all well-manicured grass and trees.  It called to mind the Temple Mount in Jerusalem but, as I said, all grass, like a golf course.  All of the people were there, and yet, it wasn't crowded at all.  That's not a snarky way to say that there weren't that many believers.  It just defied logic, to have so many there and not be crowded.  The people clustered together in small groups, talking and sharing stories and ideas about their lives and what was to come.

A small handful of people were then chosen to take on specific tasks.  I was chosen to give prayer/last rites for the children in attendance.  When I explained that I wasn't Catholic, and didn't believe in last rites, I was told that it was OK.  It was to comfort the children and their parents, and my prayer was more than sufficient for what was needed.  I agreed, honored to be chosen.  Simultaneously, my wife was made the spirit of Death. 

Now, before you start evaluating my thoughts about the Missus, you should understand a few things.  First, the Bible states that we should strive for the greater gifts when it comes to gifts of the Spirit.  My wife has been a Christian for longer than I have and is more mature in her faith than I am.  Secondly, she wasn't kitted out with a black robe and scythe.  It was just her, and she had a very important job to do.  My job was important - I mean, I was singled out - but she was really elevated.  It was pretty awe-inspiring.

So, at a given time, we understood that some of the gathered were ready to pass on to...whatever came after.  My wife and I moved through the assembled.  As I prayed, she would reach out her hand and, whoever she touched, died.  It wasn't a normal death.  They would freeze up and the color would drain out of them and they just weren't there anymore.  Some of them were nervous as she approached, but no one was really afraid.  As we passed, some of the remaining people would thank me for the prayers/last rites.  When enough people were...I don't know..."taken", we would go back to just being ourselves and waiting for the next time we were needed.  This happened a few times.

In the last part of the dream, we were all just waiting again.  Suddenly, I heard a quiet commotion behind me.  People were talking excitedly, gasping, etc.  I knew that God was among us.  Without turning to look, I dropped to my knees and pressed my face to the grass.  I whispered that I was done waiting and was ready to go.  I felt a weight on my back, as if someone were standing over me.  He asked me if I was sure that I was ready to examine my life, to be judged.  I said, "I've been made holy.  I'm ready".

Instantly, there was a table on the grass in front of me.  He started gathering the actions, thoughts, relationships, everything from my life and setting them on the table in front of me, like tokens.  They were a sort of smoky-white color, and were diferent sizes - some small, like a penny, up to roughly two inches across.  He said, "Let's start with the people in your life - those who are important to you".  The tokens lined up North-to-South, in the center of the table.  As I thought of the people that I cared about, the line of tokens grew.  I knew that we were going to go through absolutely everything that I had ever seen, done, thought, felt.  I was nervous, but never afraid.  I felt Love.  Even knowing that my existence would be laid bare, I was never ashamed.  I knew that this was just something that must be done before I moved on.

Unfortunately, before I could see what happened next, wind blew through the house, causing the bathroom door to creak and wake me up.  I tried to ignore the creaking but, by the third or fourth creak, I was awake.  Quite disappointing.  I really wanted to see what would happen next.

I'm not really sure why I'm sharing this.  I'm not one of those "visions" people.  I realized, as soon as I woke, that it was a dream.  I don't feel like I saw the future or anything.  It was just a very powerful experience for me.  If anything, I think it provides a clear idea of how I view God.  That alone makes it worthwhile for me.

P.S.  I just put my iPod on Shuffle, and the first song it chose was "These Dreams", by Heart.

In Which I Have A Bad Attitude

Warning: This may get a little bit ramble-y.  I'm trying to puzzle through this on the fly - please bear with me.

Church made me grouchy yesterday.  It's been doing that a lot lately.  Our head pastor recently departed, and it seems like the church hasn't been the same since (or even a bit before he left).  It's definitely changed, and it's hard to put my finger on what exactly the difference is.  I don't think that it's necessarily a vaccuum effect, as we have continuity in our remaining pastor, although, it may be tangentially related to that.  Plus, I feel like our current pastor is really bringing his A-game to his messages.  He's rocking some good scripture study.

I'm wondering if certain members of the church are trying to re-mold things in the former pastor's absence.  See, the thing is that we're a multi-faith, Protestant chapel.  Not all of our members' attitudes and dogmas coincide perfectly.  Some of the change may be people trying to make the chapel line up a little more with their individual faith.  I can write that off as growing pains.

It also seems like a really, really lot of our members are going through some stuff right now.  Obviously, this has nothing to do with who is standing on the pulpit on a given Sunday.  Perhaps some of my perceived change is just being in a room with a lot of people who are hurting.  I could honestly spend one whole service just hugging people and crying with them - just letting them know that they're not alone.  Not very practical, from a we-need-to-have-singing-and-sermon-and-offering-and-singing point of view, but, hey, it's how I feel.

Anyway, yesterday, as we left, I related to the Missus how I felt, counting through item after item of inconsequential things that all added up to me making this emoticon >:-( by the time we left.  She suggested that, maybe, we shouldn't attend that church anymore, if I was so upset every week.  Just that simple suggestion really stopped me in my tracks.  That is certainly not the direction that I wish to go.  For one, as I said, the pastor is really blessing me weekly with some good, in-depth, study.  Also, I'm starting to build some good relationships there.  I certainly don't want to leave them behind and start all over. 

At that point, I really had to admit that I might be the problem.  Well, not me, but my attitude.

So, where is the attitude coming from?  Well, I think it may be the issue I had last month with some of my fellow chapel members.  I think I've really been holding onto that, and it's coloring my overall experience when I have to be in the same room as them, which hasn't necessarily been as infrequently as I would like.

Yes, I am guilty of being unforgiving.  It's made me a less effective Christian, and, honestly, a less effective member of the human race.  The irony is not lost on me that a reasonably significant portion of my blog, to date, has been dedicated to convincing people to be more hip and groovy to each other and, here I am, stewing over some old stuff.

Here we go, then.  You church members who I am upset with - I forgive you.  I recognize that you will probably not read this, as we are not friends, nor will we likely be - and that's OK.  I'm forgiving you in my heart, and am going to let last month's issue go.  It's over and done with, and life goes on.

Whew.  That feels better.

To the few of you who actually read this: thanks for letting me get that off my chest.  I really do think the world will be a much better place when we can all figure out a nice, peaceful way to handle our disagreements.  Obviously, I am not the perfect example, but I'm trying.  Life's too short to spend it angry.

I Wrote Another Short Story!

I love the show The Twilight Zone.  Little slices of things that were always just a bit askew.  I think I loved them for the same reason that I love short stories.  You can shorthand a lot of stuff and just dive right into to a character in a strange situation.

This story is my attempt at paying homage to that great series.  I've had this idea for a long time about a man waking up, and realizing that the sky above him was not the sky that he was familiar with.  I thought that would be a very disorienting way to wake up.  I sort of forced myself to give this man a story.

Again, let me know what you think.

Unfamiliar Sky

Dan Burke woke, flat on his back in the grass, staring up at an unfamiliar sky.  Stargazing was a hobby of his, and the constellations overhead were definitely in the wrong positions.  He took quick stock of his various body parts, and judged that he was uninjured, if a little damp from lying in the wet grass.  He lifted his head, slowly, and looked around.  He recognized the softball field immediately.  His company's team had taken second place in the city tournament last year, and he played second base.  He stood.

I'm only a mile or so from home.  That's good, he thought.  But why are the stars wrong?  And, why am I in the softball field?

The field lights were off, but the first traces of light were coming over the horizon, and Dan could tell that his car wasn't in the small parking lot.  He checked his pockets and discovered that he had his keys and wallet.

I don't feel hung over.  How did I get out here?

Slowly, Dan headed toward the break in the fence near the dugout.  Leaving the field, he started toward home.  Even though he knew where he was, he was disoriented from waking out in the open, and felt shaken by the strange sky.

Someone was running toward him on the street.  His heartbeat quickened, and he tensed.  He had a moment’s indecision whether or not to run away.  Instead, he chose to continue ahead, ready to spring out of the way if needed.  As the person got closer, he could hear rhythmic, heavy breathing.  Morning jogger, Dan thought, and felt a little silly for his apprehension.  Sure enough, the jogger passed him by with barely a glance.

As the sky brightened overhead, erasing the errant constellations, Dan’s nerves calmed considerably.  He turned onto his street, and saw his car, parked in the driveway.  He arrived at his house and pulled his keys out of his pocket.  He slid his house key into the lock and turned it over.  Or, rather, he tried to.  While it slid home easily enough, it refused to turn.  He tried again.  Nothing.  He checked that he was using the correct key.  Yes, it was definitely his house key.  Knowing that it wouldn’t work, Dan tried once more.  Still nothing.  His unease was creeping back up, now mixed with frustration.

The door opened.

“Dan?  Where have you been?”  It was Paige, his wife, a concerned look on her face.

“I, uh, I was just out for a walk.  I, um, woke up early and couldn’t get back to sleep.  Thought I’d go get some air”, he lied.

“Dan, I was really worried.  You could have left a note or something”.  She kissed him as she stepped back to let him in.  “I’m glad you’re home, anyway.  Want some coffee?”

“Oh, yes.  Very much yes”.  He followed Paige into the kitchen.  “I think something’s wrong with the lock.  Or my key.”

“Really?  We can try my key later.  See what’s wrong with it”.  She busied herself with the coffee maker.

Dan sat at the kitchen table and watched her make coffee.  She had always had a great figure and, dressed as she was, in her robe, hair still damp from the shower, Dan found her to be incredibly sexy.  He was forming the words to tell her so, when she approached him, steaming mugs of coffee in hand.

“Here you go, sweetie”, she said as she flashed him her disarming smile, the one that made the corners of her sparkling hazel eyes turn down.

Dan’s heart began pounding again.  Paige had the most stunning hazel eyes.  They flashed green when she was angry.  He had spent hours of his life, staring into them.

Paige’s eyes, as she handed him his coffee, were a flat, milk chocolate brown.

Dan started, pushing away and upsetting his chair in the process.  He fell hard to the floor.  His mug shattered, spattering him with hot coffee.

“Dan!  What the hell?”, Paige yelled at him.  Her eyes did not flash green.

“GET AWAY FROM ME!”

Her face softened and she leaned down toward him.  “Dan, what’s wrong?  Are you OK?”

“I SAID ‘GET AWAY FROM ME!’”.  Dan kicked the upset chair at Paige, knocking her feet out from under her. She sprawled over the chair and crashed to the floor.  Dan scrambled to his feet and ran awkwardly for the front door.  Throwing it open, he almost ran into Ed, his next door neighbor.

“Hey, Dan.  Is everything OK?  I heard shouting”.  Ed glanced past Dan, into the house.

“Huh?  Oh, uh, yeah.  No, everything’s fine”.  Dan made a feeble attempt at a smile.  Ed returned the smile, revealing a set of teeth, all pointed, like a shark’s.

“Ed!  Help!”, Paige screamed from kitchen.  Ed’s shark grin widened. 

Dan screamed and punched Ed square in the nose.  Ed staggered back for a moment, then rushed forwards, grabbing Dan by the shirt and slamming him backwards into the wall, knocking the wind from his lungs.  Paige came around the corner, limping, fixing her disheveled robe.  Tears ran down her cheeks.

“Dan, why?”, Paige asked, leveling her brown eyes at him.

“Your…your eyes”, Dan whispered.

“What about my eyes, Dan?” 

Paige sighed, lowering her head.  When she looked back up at him, her damp eyes were hazel, favoring green, as they always had been.  Dan gaped at her, then glanced at Ed, with his smashed nose, blood pouring down his face, and then back into his wife’s beautiful hazel eyes.

Dan fainted.

*********************************************** 

Dan Burke woke, flat on his back, staring up at an unfamiliar ceiling.  All white, with metal grates covering the recessed lights.  He took quick stock of his various body parts, and judged that he was uninjured, but he couldn’t move his arms.  He lifted his head, slowly, and looked around.  He took in the padded walls and straitjacket. 

Dan lowered his head and closed his eyes, hoping to awake somewhere else.

In my head, the confrontation between Dan and Paige was much more violent.  Then, I thought that, between this story and the last, some of you might think that I had a real problem with women.  That's not the case at all, but I figured that maybe toning it down would be better for the story anyway. 

Planks And Specks, Vol. 2

Recently, no fewer than four of my Facebook friends posted a link to this comic (there are some bad words in it, so follow at your own risk) :

How To Suck At Your Religion

I won't copy it into my page because 1.) I don't like it, and 2.) I don't want to get in any kind of legal trouble.  So, you can follow the link.

I take issue with this for a number or reasons but, chief among them is the inherent hypocrisy of it in the first place.  Drawing up a comic, or any other form of expression, couched in the delivery and language that this is, taking (mostly) Christians to task for being hateful and judgmental, is blatantly hypocritical.

Here's the deal, Atheists (or is it "atheists"?  Is it capitalized?) - we all get that you don't believe in God, Allah, Jesus, Mohammed, Buddha, the Flying Spaghetti Monster, Yoda, etc. ad nauseum.

We believe in something that you don't. We get it. We really do. However, taking every possible opportunity in your lives to lambaste others for their beliefs doesn't really make you right. It just makes you kind of a jerk. If you're going to call theists judgmental and hateful and pushy, maybe you should take a little more care that you don't exhibit these same traits yourself.

That's what gets me. The hate directed towards telling theists how hateful they are. It's a real "fight fire with fire" approach, and I don't think it really accomplishes anything.

Maybe that's what I'm so bothered about: What are you trying to accomplish? Are you trying to convince theists that you're right? Has a hateful theist won you over? No? I didn't think so. Is it some masturbatory reflex to get other atheists to pat you on the back and tell you how clever you are and how you really stuck it to the Christians? Are you so sad inside that you need that validation?

Tolerance.  Tolerance and diversity.  That's all you scream about.  The Christians are SO hateful because they say that I'll go to Hell if I don't sign on with their Imaginary Sky Daddy.  Yet, you can't have an honest discussion about it without resorting to ridicule.  You want tolerance?  Practice a little.  And that free-thinking you so value?  Why do I have to freely think exactly what you think in order to not be ridiculed?  Guess what?  I used to be a militant atheist, just like you.  Free thinking led me to faith in Jesus Christ.  Um, is it not supposed to work that way?  Did I do it wrong?  Geez.

There's more to say here, but I'm tired and want to close this before it gets way too long.  I'll close with this question:

When did our egos get so fragile that we can't tolerate anyone who doesn't think exactly the way we do?

This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things!

I just returned home from an amazing trip to Israel.  For 10 days, a pretty large subset of my church family toured (what felt like) pretty much the entire country.  I had an amazing time and, as a Christian, got to visit some very important locations from both the Old and New Testaments, with a lot of non-Biblical stuff mixed in, just because it's pretty cool/educational/etc.  It's also phenomenal to see, first-hand, how the various Middle Eastern cultures live and work together.  Politically, it's a pretty big mess but, in the day-to-day, it's largely stable and full of people who would really like to go the rest of their lives not killing each other.  If you get a chance, you should go.

One thing really bothered me, though.  It's been scratching at my brain a little since I've been here in Europe, but now it's honestly become a full-blown issue for me.  My problem is this:

How does the Catholic Church justify its modus operandi?

Please, allow me to explain with a fun pictorial.  Here is Exhibit A:

This is the site, to include actual walls and excavated rooms, of the church that Peter started up after the crucifixion of Christ.  If you recall, immediately following the crucifixion, being (what would soon be known as) a Christian was a dangerous thing.  I mean, look, they just nailed up the head guy!  The remaining disciples, etc, were in hiding.  This tiny little room was where the first meetings were held as the Church tried to regroup and get its collective balance.





The site is found - awesome.  What a great opportunity for Christians to come and see the roots of where all of it began, right?  Well, sure, until the Catholic Church swoops in, buys the site, and builds a flying saucer right on top of it!






The sad part is that this is actually tasteful compared to some of the other sites.  Exhibit B, The Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the supposed site of Christ's crucifixion (Golgotha) and resurrection:

Seriously.  It looks like Liberace exploded in here.  What I find interesting is that there is no archaeological evidence that this is the actual site for any of the events leading up to Christ's crucifixion.  The Catholic Church bought this site and said, "OK, everyone.  This is the spot.  You know, because we say so".  They slap a bunch of marble and gold in it and it's the spot.

The very worst is that they've utterly erased any trace of anything in the  site that could possibly be used to verify their claim.





So, the part I'm having trouble wrapping my head around is that this is a religion, right?  Granted, they don't have the greatest track record, what with the Crusades and the odd Inquisition here and there.  But they can put that behind them and show how they've moved on.  Maybe they've put their thumbscrews in a long-forgotten cabinet in a long-forgotten basement, but this wholesale appropriation of historical sites is unfathomable to me.

Again, this is a religion, supposedly based upon the teachings of Christ and His followers.  When I look at the opulence on display, and how they plunk a church down on every holy site they can gain access to, I have a difficult time believing that this is an organization that is, in any way, concerned with getting people right with God so that they can go to Heaven.  Instead, I see an organization that is entirely concerned with saying to the world, "Look at me!  Look at how rich and powerful I am!".   When I look at these monuments to ostentatiousness (spell-checker is mad at me), I can't help but wondering how much good could be done if the money and resources went to the needy instead of to phallus-waving.  It really turns my stomach.

If they could say that they weren't doing this anymore, and were just maintaining the already-established sites, I could sort-of give them a pass.  But, they aren't.  The Vatican is, as we speak, trying to buy the room where the Last Supper was held.  The room has already been altered enough, since it's been alternately a chapel, a synagogue, and a mosque, depending on who's been in charge at the time.  Thankfully, the Israeli government is refusing the sale.

I know that the Catholics get upset every time Lady Gaga or someone uses Catholic imagery in a blasphemous music video, but it seems to me that the Catholic Church devolved into self-parody a long, long time ago.  I mean, if you think about what a church should be like, and what this one is currently like, I can't think of anything more ripe for satire and parody.

And, that's not to say that Protestants, Jews, Muslims, or Buddhists are completely in the clear on this, either.  But, cast your eyes to that first picture.  That's a real church, in the model of Christ.  It was held in someone's home with a group of dedicated believers, who wanted nothing more that to spread the Gospel and take care of widows, orphans, and the sick.  That's the model, people!  Not gold-plating everything that's nailed down.

I hope the tone of this isn't too biting.  I tried to keep it more or less civil, but I'm pretty upset about it, as a general concept.  We're all doing it wrong, and it seems, to me, that Catholicism is the worst offender.

I guess the silver lining is that this is really causing me to do some soul-searching on how I "do church" so, at least, I can thank them for that.